Electric intermutator



(No Model.)

. 'Ssheets-sheet 1. H. G-I ONBILL.

ELECTRIC .INTEBMUTATOR y Patented Nov. 1, 1892.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. G. ONEILL.

ELECTRIC INTERMUTATOR.

No. 485,425. Patented Nov. 1, 189.2.

` 7 @www (No Model.) Y* Y 3 sheets-sheet s.

H. G. ONEILL.

ELECTRIC INTERMUTATOR. Y l No. 485,425. Patented Nov. l,v 1892.

UNITED STATES HENRY G. ONEILL, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGN OR, BY DIRECT AND PATENT OFFICE@ MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE STANDARD ELECTRIC HEAT, LIGHT, AND

POWER COMPANY, OF MAINE.

ELECTRIC INTERMUTATOR..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,425, dated November 1, 1892. Application med February 9,1892. serial No. 420,883. (No miei.)

To @ZZ` whom it may concern:

Be it knownv that I, HENRY G. ONEILL, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident of Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Intermutators; and I do declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a perspective view of this invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 isa plan view.

This invention has relation to means for distributing an electric current in full volume to various receivers, whether they be heaters, motors, or other form of utilizing mechanism or apparatus; and it consists in providing new and improved automatic devices capable of effecting an intermutation or interchange of current in an exceedinglyrapid manner between the diierent receivers, all as hereinafter set forth.

Mainly, therefore, the object of this invention is to provide an automatic means of rapidly and intermittently distributing an electric current in full force or volume to anumber of points of service, whether its energy shall be transformed into power or heat or otherwise rendered practically useful.

In the drawings I have illustrated a form of this intermutator which is designed to serve the purposes in view and whereby an explanation of this invention will be readily afforded.

The letter A designates a conducting-shaft having suitable insulated bearings B, on which are secured wheels or disks C in number corresponding to that of the heaters or other receivers to be fed from this intermutator. For instance, in the drawings the device is shown capable of distribution to three separate points of action, and for this purpose three wheels or disks or rotary interrupters C are employed on the shaft. Each of these disks or interrupters is partly conducting and partly non-conducting, and therefore maybe provided with a circumferential non-conducting surface of refractory or non-combustible material-such as soapstone or porcelain-for about two-'thirds of its extent, as at d, the remaining third being of conducting material, as shown at e. This conducting portion is electrically connected to the conductor-shaft A. The disks are rigidly secured to said shaft, and as the contacts for distribution F are arranged in this 'exempliiication in the same line the conductor-arcs c have complementary position on the peripheries of the disks in order that the conductor-arc c of one disk will cease its function in the slightest degree after the'conductor-arc e of another disk commences its action. This arrangement is intended -to prevent loss of current and injury to the mechanism by sparking. In this manner the shaft-current is designed to be diverted through each conducting-arc successively to each contact F during each revolution of the shaft A, the driving mechanism of which is arranged to give it several thousand revolutions per minute. The contacts F may be spring-actuated, pivoted, or shifting arms connected to the binding-posts G, whence the distribution-wires h extend separately to their respective heaters or receivers K. Any of these contact-points may be disconnected at will when the point to which it leads is out of service.

The electric-supply wire for the conductorshaft is indicated at Z and is connected to a binding-post M, which is put into electrical communication with said shaft by a contact N, which is preferably of springactuated form.

The movementv of the intermutator-shaftA may be eifected by gearing the same, as at V, to the shaft of asmall electric motor P, which may be constructed on the base R of the intermutator and for which the current may be derived from the main supply-wire through a branch Z', whereof the binding-posts are indicated at S, and in order in some cases to` obtain a number of revolutions about equal to the number. of reversals of an alternating current-about seventeen thousand per min- IOO nte-an intermediate multiplying powerwheel V may be employed.

When the instrument has three disks, as illustrated, the circuit will be made and broken three times in one revolution and the current will feed three points of utilization.

Should there be more points of action to beY fed, then there must bea corresponding number of disks and the conducting-arc of each disk must be in length about equal to the diskperiphery divided by the number of points of activity, a slight lap being provided, how-` ever, to prevent sparking. The speed of the intermutator may be regulated by the adjustment of the governor of the motor. In connection with the motor branch Z a rheostat m is ordinarily employed to regulate the current of the motor. Should it be desired to cut ott the supply from any receiver or point of activity, the contact on the binding-post corresponding` to that receiver can be shifted to break the circuit to such point of action.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The herein-described electric intermutator, comprising a base or support, a rotary conducting-shaft journaled thereon in insulated bearings, a series of disks arranged at intervals along said shaft, each of said disks having a conducting-segment electrically connected With said shaft, said segments being arranged complementary to each other with HENRY G. ONEILL. lVitnesses:

PHILIP C. Masi, GEO. M. ANDERSON. 

